


Borrowed World

by Dorkjitsu



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-16
Updated: 2016-05-16
Packaged: 2018-06-08 18:57:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6869371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dorkjitsu/pseuds/Dorkjitsu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(Orig. published 2007) Just some brotherly time discussing a proposal to live out in North Hampton.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Borrowed World

It really could be beautiful. When the night-time fog cloaked the city's colorful lights in a blurry, psychedelic haze, the moment itself could seem ethereal. After such a heavy downpour of a storm, the air was the cleanest and crispest that New York city had to offer. The sky, with its backdrop of blurrs and colors, was lit by the occasional streaks of lightning like whims of a painter's brush. From his spot on an old brownwall building's ledge, Michaelangelo could watch the city with somber eyes. His knee was drawn up to his chest, the other leg swinging idly off the edge, and his mind was as close to meditative stillness as it could manage.  
  


Leonardo had proposed to the family that they move out to Casey's farmhouse in Noho. He had declared that to further their training, particularly the spiritual aspects, they would need to detach themselves from the hectic distractions of the city. North Hampton was their golden opportunity, as Casey had no beef with his "second family" living on the land that was being unused anyway. The nearest neighbor was miles away, and Leonardo was pushing for a more natural lifestyle. For body, mind, and spirit.  
  


Raph blew up, of course. Said that leaving the city for some hippie bend was a crock. Don didn't say much of anything, as usual. He just let Leo talk and Raph storm off. It was Mike's reaction that seemed the most surprising, for the sheer fact that there wasn't one. He had just continued to watch his program, eyes a little more glazed than usual. When Leo had prodded the younger turtle for input, he simply shrugged, made a generic quip, and declared that he was going to put some distance beneath his skateboard.  
  


"If you boarded all the way up here, I'm impressed."  
  


Mike turned his body slightly to face the shadows on the roof and gave the darkened sillouhuette a cheeky grin. "Since when have you ceased to be impressed by me, bro?"  
  


Donatello stepped out to be bathed in the weak light that was carried on the smog, turning his olive-green skin to a sickly yellow. As he approached the building's ledge, the neon lights from below fought their way through the haze to add splashes of color, casting the pallid illusion away from his features. The turtle's eyes stared out across the view almost appreciatively as he spoke, his voice soft, serious, and right to the point. "It's not like you to be without an opinion. A boisterous, obsessive, inescapable opinion."  
  


Mike, too, was staring out into the dark shapes and bleary colors; his eyes would dart toward every flash of lightning that darted across. His own voice lacked the enthusiasm and lift that had come to be expected. "Maybe I just don't know."  
  


Donatello sat and brought his legs over the sturdy stone to let both feet dangle in the air. From an onlooker's point of view, they would have been nothing but obscure shapes against the strange play of light and darkness. "Want to talk about it?"  
  


Mike gave a sigh, letting a toe curl and scrape across the wall in an idle gesture. One shoulder rose slightly before falling back into place- a subconscious shrug. "It's just...I really don't know. It's awesome out there, in Noho. The sun comes right in the windows! If you want a snack, you just walk out and pluck something fresh from a tree or garden. Campfires and crickets and stargazing where you can actually see the stars; you know I love it out there. It's like...it's like we belong in the world, rather than just hiding from it. I mean, the lake doesn't care what you are- it's just as cool and welcoming to anybody. It's like nature accepts us, recognizes us, and keeps on providing for her children. We're all a little happier when we're out there, even Raph." He shot a smirk at Donatello before adding, "Which is an improvement"  
  


Don rewarded him with a small smile, their eyes meeting. "Then what would you miss, in comparison to all of that?"  
  


The orange-banded turtle spread his arms out in a wide gesture, as if to encompass the entire view. "All of this."  
  


Donatello swept his eyes over the area with a long, dramatic gaze, then he arched an eye-ridge at the younger turtle. The look was of mingled curiosity and doubt. Mike rolled his eyes and elaborated. "Not the landscape, the people."  
  


Michaelangelo was once again met with that dubious look- the one that said he was making no sense to those around him. It was a look that he was well-accustomed to. His eyes were drawn back to the slowly lifting fog. "I know that we're not a part of their lives, and they're not a part of ours, but they've always been there. This busy, exciting sort of energy all around us like a hum. And you still feel like part of that humming, thrumming world because we're still effected by them. And some of the things we do here- we've helped a lot of people. We've influenced the lives of others, even if we're not really known and accepted. If we cut ourselves off from that, we'll be right back to being...well..."  
  


Don's voice was quick to fill the gap. "A handful of individuals without a people. No history, no future, and no others."  
  


Michaelangelo glanced to his brother for a shared look of understanding. He gave a small nod and continued. "Yeah. I mean, we are, no matter where we live. It's just easier to forget that when there is a thriving culture to lose yourself in. If we were to spend the rest of our lives alone...I mean, Case and April would visit, but...we'd be alone on a grand scale. It would be more obvious, harsher. I think that's why Raph gets real moody out there sometimes; you know how bad he is at hiding those less pleasant emotions. Out there, he's happy but moody...bipolar."  
  


Don nodded, and using his advanced observation skills, provided a brief and concise conclusion. "So you don't know where you stand."  
  


The younger turtle blinked a few times before an amused smirk spread across his features. His voice dripped with satire. "That's what I've been trying to say for five minutes, bro."  
  


Don gave his brother a long-suffering but amused look from the corner of his eye, then looked out in his own contemplation. Mike's fingers traced the grooves between bricks as they sat in a silence that was heavy like the lifting fog. The orange-banded turtle shifted restlessly and brought the conversation back around. "You're cool with it, though? I mean, I didn't exactly here you object when Leo was going on about the benefits of 'separated isolation'."  
  


Donatello brought a leg up and rested his folded arms over the knee. "He had several good points, none of which I could necessarily object to."  
  


Mike gave a small nod. "Then you really want to move out there?"   
  


"No."  
  


The younger turtle blinked a few times, staring at the brother that confused him the most. Don gave a wry grin and elaborated. "He had several good points, as you've just made for both cases. What happened earlier this evening was...and introduction of the proposition. Everyone needs to let it sink in and express whatever emotions come of it. Only afterward, can we approach the matter with objective logic."  
  


Mike rolled his eyes dramatically. "You sound like a machine, Don. Are you saying that you don't have any preferences? Just logic?"  
  


The older turtle shook his head while collecting his thoughts. He knew that Mike would understand if given the right words. "That's not what I'm saying at all. I'm simply saying that I'm quick to prioritize. After some consideration, I realized that there are more important issues than my own personal preferences."  
  


The orange-banded ninja cocked his head in mild confusion. Preferences could be ignored or put aside, but actually altered? "...Like what?"  
  


Don gave a sigh and inhaled deeply, a tell-tale sign that he was about to launch into another lengthy explanation. "Like the safety of my family. The farmhouse is secluded, but by what? Land. Trees. Area that can see future change and construction. Casey owns several acres, but what's to stop his neighbors from selling out and commercializing the area in the years to come? What's to stop people from crossing those imaginary lines on paper and an impotent fence of wood and barbed wire? Anything could happen. Say there was a natural disaster, or we were simply spotted. Once that spot of land becomes a target, how would we hide? How would we escape? There is no labyrinth of tunnels, no maze of dark alleys. We would be above ground, out in the open, without proper security and fall-back routes. It would be a tenuous lifestyle."  
  


Mike gave it a moment to sink in. "So what, your logic and priorities overpower your personal preference so that you don't even want it at all?"  
  


The comment was met with a smirk, and Donatello tweaked his voice to imitate Mike's earlier long-suffering one. "That's what I've been trying to say for five minutes, bro."  
  


Mike rolled his eyes and lunged his upper body, capturing Don's neck in his arm. The younger turtle attempted a noogie, but his valiant efforts were thwarted as Don wrestled him away from the ledge and onto the rooftop floor, commencing in a brotherly battle royal.  
  


Five minutes later, Michaelangelo was leaning back against Don's plastron, the other's arm draped across his shoulder. Thin streaks of lightning still flashed across the haze of a sky, and they watched in companionable silence. The breeze carried orange bandanna tails over Don's shoulder to mingle with purple on the night air; strips of colored fabric danced and fluttered against one another, intertwining. Where ever life carried them, they would be there together.


End file.
